Four Japan firms to tie up in facial recognition for payment

Four companies, including banking group Resona Holdings Inc. and electronics giant Panasonic Corp., said Monday that they will work together to put into practical use a payment platform using facial recognition technology. Resona, Panasonic, credit card firm JCB Co. and Dai Nippon Printing Co. aim to introduce a system to allow customers to deposit, withdraw and transfer money at banks using only facial recognition technology for identification as early as fiscal 2022, staring next April. They also hope that the envisaged platform will be used in a wide variety of occasions, such as accommodation check-ins, settlements at retail shops and admission and exit at event venues. They plan to call for companies in different sectors to take part in the initiative. The facial recognition system is expected to verify the users' ID by matching facial images captured mainly by cameras at facilities and the facial images that they have registered to a common server.